Philoptics wins order for 2mm glass substrate TGV equipment from global customer

Philoptics has won an order from a new global customer for through-glass via (TGV) equipment capable of processing 2mm-thick glass substrates. The company achieved a zero-defect rate in a mass-production evaluation and will also supply an automated optical inspection (AOI) system alongside the TGV equipment.

The TGV equipment ordered is designed to drill precise micro-holes in 2mm-thick glass substrates. TGV bores fine holes through glass to create electrical signal pathways and is one of the core processes in next-generation semiconductor packaging.

Philoptics said it recorded a defect rate of 0 parts per million in a customer evaluation conducted on mass-production glass substrates measuring 510×515mm. The company said it also met the customer's quality requirements for aspect ratio — the relationship between hole depth and diameter — as well as the ratio of mid-hole diameter to top-hole diameter.

Both TGV and AOI equipment will be delivered under the order. The AOI system inspects glass substrates for defects after laser processing. By supplying the two systems together, Philoptics said it has added a new customer within the global glass substrate supply chain beyond substrate manufacturers.

Demand for related equipment has been growing as major chipmakers in the United States and Taiwan explore glass substrates as a next-generation packaging technology. Drawing on its experience supplying mass-production equipment since 2022, Philoptics has been expanding its customer base beyond substrate manufacturers to a broader range of companies within the glass substrate supply chain.

Securities analysts expect the importance of precision processing technology to rise as the glass substrate market expands. In a report titled "The Beginning of Change in Glass Substrates" published Tuesday, Park Hee-cheol, a senior analyst at Kyobo Securities, said semiconductor packages are growing larger as AI and high-performance computing chips demand higher performance and as HBM adoption increases. He noted that while conventional organic substrates are limited by warpage and wiring density, glass substrates compensate for those shortcomings through superior flatness and low thermal expansion. However, he flagged that glass materials are vulnerable to micro-cracking, making TGV processing and crack control the key technical challenges.

"The thicker the glass substrate, the easier it is to control warpage, but the overall process difficulty increases — including void formation during TGV hole drilling and copper filling," a Philoptics official said. "Securing precise TGV processing quality is critical to improving mass-production yields."

"This order is significant in that we met the demanding technical requirements of major global customers," the official added. "We will continue to strengthen our position as a core partner in the next-generation glass substrate ecosystem."